Becoming la niña – Page 9 – Love, Life, & Natural Beauty

It’s A Dirty World Out There!

I took a quick trip to a local farmer’s market today to pick up some fresh organic fruit. I’ve never really been one to believe in the whole detox fad, but lately I’ve been feeling that toxicity that people who detox are always talking about. So, I decided to do some research on it and see if maybe a cleanse (I prefer this term) would be right for me.

There are so many out there to choose from… it’s overwhelming.

So far, I know what I don’t want. I don’t want an all liquid cleanse. These cleanses are all basically water and lemon. Since I’m not interested in losing weight (although I know I will lose a couple lbs. on a cleanse), I prefer a cleanse with a little more calories. I’m leaning towards a fruit and vegetable cleanse. As I continue my research, I’m learning how beneficial fruits and veggies are to our own body’s detoxification organs, which includes our kidneys, liver, intestines, and our skin.

Our bodies are perfectly capable of detoxifying itself, but with all the contaminants which are now found in our foods and skin products, such as hormones, pesticides, additives, preservatives, and antibiotics, along with environmental toxins, our bodies are overworked and are unable to completely detoxify as they were made to do.

A cleanse gives our bodies get a break from all the toxins. I still have a lot to learn, but I’ll be sharing what I learn with you along the way.

Fall Gardening: Part Three

Most of my seedlings have sprouted! As you can see, I’ve removed the dome from over them and they are getting pretty tall. However, it is still not the right time to transplant these little guys into the garden. So when is the right time?

Every plant is different, but a general rule of thumb is to wait until the seedling has at least 3 – 4 true leaves. The first leaves to emerge on a new plant are called cotyledons, as seen above. These leaves store nutrients to support the new seedling for a short period of time. The cotyledons will look different from the true leaves.

True leaves grow shortly after the cotyledons. The true leaves emerge and start generating energy through photosynthesis that will help feed the plant for the rest of its life. Making sure that the plant has enough of these leaves to keep it sustained when planted out in your garden is important to its proper growth.

So, I still have to wait a little while longer before I can take these little guys to their new home. Check back for part 4, when I’ll do just that! Stay tuned.

Grow an Indoor Spice Garden (apartmentguide.com)
Breakfast in the Garden (whetyourplants.wordpress.com)

Night Time Nourishing Oil

This is a very simple recipe that I’ve been using, every night, for the last two years. With just 3 ingredients, extra virgin olive oil, orange essential oil, and jasmine essential oil, you have a great serum to nourish your skin while you sleep.

Olive oil is a simi-fatty rich oil that softens and protects the skin. It is rich in antioxidant phytochemicals and essential fatty acids.

Orange essential oil is anti inflammatory and helps cure acne.

Jasmine essential oil is also anti inflammatory and helps promote sleep. It’s scent compliments the orange.

3 Tbsp organic extra virgin olive oil

1 drop orange essential oil

1 drop jasmine essential oil

Combine all the oils together in a bottle and shake vigorously. I only use 2 drops for my face and 2 drops for my neck, so this will last me a long time. This oil can be stored for 12 months. This is a great serum for combination/dry skin. If your skin is more dry or mature, use avocado oil instead of olive oil.

Please note: Essential oils are a powerful concentrate, so a little goes a long way. Essential oils should never be put directly on the skin, and they should not be handled without the use of gloves. They should always be mixed with a carrier oil, in this case olive oil.

Fall Gardening: Part Two

Instead of planting my seeds directly into my mini pots, I like to use the Burpee’s Pot Maker to make little paper pots, with newspaper strips, and use them as liners inside my mini pots. I do this so when it’s time to transplant my seedlings, I can just pull out the “liners” and put them directly into the ground. The newspaper is biodegradable and I don’t have to worry about root damage during transplanting.

I use an organic seed starting soil mix to help my seeds along.

Letting the soil soak up some water before planting my seeds will help get some of the air out of the dry soil and my seeds won’t float out of the soil when watering, as they would if I didn’t soak it first.

I only plant one seed in each pot and label it. If the seed doesn’t sprout after 10 to 14 days, I’ll just plant another seed in it’s place.

Indoors I put all my little pots on a tray near a sunny window and cover them with a plastic dome. This will create a greenhouse effect, keeping my soil moist and warm. Notice that the bottom of my dome is elevated. This is necessary to keep the air circulating… You don’t want to suffocate your newly planted seeds! The dome will stay on until the first sprout appears. Then the dome must be removed, and I’ll be back with part 3 of this series when it’s time to do just that. Stay tuned!

Fall Gardening: Part One

Fall is a wonderful time to start a garden. Many veggies, such as lettuce, cabbage, carrots, cucumbers, and broccoli thrive in cooler weather.

I love having my own variety of lettuce to make fresh salads, so I’m getting ready to plant my small crop. However, this is what my planter box looks like at the moment. It’s not a pretty sight.

Getting rid of all overgrown weeds, or anything else that’s overgrown, is vital to the development of my lettuce. I don’t want my lettuce to have to compete for any nutrients.

Adding manure and organic matter to the soil will also help boost the health and growth of my plants. The soil where I live is very sandy, making it not very nutrient-rich, so these additions to the soil will make a big difference.

I also relocated my planter box to a more shady area, as lettuce and other cool weather corps prefer more shade. Not that they don’t need sun, but they prefer to get more shade rather than full sun like tomatoes and peppers do.

I will be planting a variety of lettuces, but I like starting all my veggies indoors, in individual, mini containers. This way I can control how many seeds I plant and how many seedling I can expect, and I don’t have to worry about thinning my seedings and discarding the excess.

I will go into this further in Part 2 of this series, and you can follow the growth (hopefully) of my mini garden, so stay tuned.

Homemade Facial Scrub

This scrub recipe was passed down to me by a friend. I want to share it with you because I really like it, and I use it all the time. With just 3 pantry staple ingredients, this scrub is easy and affordable to make.

Extra virgin olive oil – I’ve said it before; it’s my favorite beauty ingredient. It has similar properties to our own sebum, so it’s easily absorbed by our skin, yet it doesn’t clog pores. It also nourishes and moisturizes.

Honey is a great antibacterial. It is purifying, soothing, and helps heal and soften the skin.

Sugar is used in this recipe as a mild abrasive to help remove dead skin cells, and to smooth the skin.

I use all organic ingredients when I make this scrub.

2 tbsp organic extra virgin olive oil

2 tbsp organic honey

1/2 cup organic sugar

Mix all the ingredients together in a container, until thoroughly combined. Make sure the container is has an airtight seal to store. Do not store this scrub in the fridge, as it will harden.

To use: First, gently cleanse your face. Since the honey and the sugar tend to bind together, making the scrub harden a bit, I suggest you moisten your hands with water, then warming a bit of the scrub between your hands to melt the honey and make it smooth before applying to your face. Using circular motion and very light pressure with your finger tips, gently spread the scrub all over your face, being careful to avoid the delicate eye area. Rinse with plenty of water, making sure all the sugar is rinsed off. While you are rinsing, your face will feel very oily, as oil and water do not mix. Do not try to rinse off all the oil. Pat dry to remove all excess oil. Your face will look and feel amazing. You will not need to apply extra moisturizer.

I recommend using this scrub at night, no more than twice a week. Please note: You should never use any kind of abrasive if you are breaking out. Doing so may irritate the skin even more, break pustules, and cause scarring.

Let me know what you think. Enjoy!

Peanut Butter! Who knew?

For those of us without peanut allergies, peanut butter is a delicious treat. It’s also very versatile. Not only can you spread it on toast, peanut butter is used in baking and cooking as well. Cookies, cakes, icings, sauces, and dressings, all made from this pantry staple.

Peanuts are not actually nuts, but legumes, so they are rich in proteins, iron, vitamin E, and heart-healthy saturated fatty acids. Peanuts are also rich in selenium content, which is effective in warding off heartburn. My grandmother eats a teaspoon of peanut butter to relieve her heartburn.

To me, the most amazing thing about peanut butter is that you can spread some on any sticky residue from a peeled off sticker, label, or price tag, let it sit for a few minutes, then wipe it clean and the residue is gone! And it works on any surface. Amazing!! I can’t tell you why this work, but it does. Especially when they put those super sticky price tags on the bottom of brand new shoes. Why do they do that??? No matter how much you scrub the bottoms of your new shoes, you can’t get the stickiness off. But now you know that peanut butter is the answer.

You’re welcome.

Essential Finds: Olive & Green Tea Lotion

I decided to try the Shea Moisture line of products after all the great reviews I’ve heard about them. Today I want to share with you the Olive & Green Tea Lotion by Shea Moisture.

This olive butter lotion is enriched with shea butter, vitamin E, green tea extract, and avocado. It claims to “boost cell renewal, help even skin tone, and provide the ultimate in moisturization.” It is all natural and contains some certified organic ingredients. It contains no parabens, parafins, mineral oil, sulfates, or synthetic fragrances.

I’ve been using this lotion for about two months now and it really delivers in moisture. My skin is soft and moisturized, and I haven’t had to reapply throughout the day. The lotion itself is really thick, which I usually don’t like because thick lotions tend feel heavy on the skin. However, to my surprise, this lotion spreads very easily and doesn’t feel thick at all. It is absorbed by my skin very quickly without leaving it feeling oily. It also has a lite, clean, fresh scent.

The only thing I didn’t like about this lotion is the packaging. The bottle is made of a hard plastic and the cap is a flip-cap. Since the lotion is so thick and the bottle is so hard and inflexible, it is impossible to squeeze the product out of the bottle. I put my own pump on the bottle and it works great this way. I think the product should come with the pump already and not the flip-cap.

Other than the packaging issue, I really like this lotion and will continue to use it. You can get your own at Target for $8.99. Let me know what you think.

Let’s Get Physical!

I mean working out! Natural beauty is not only in appearance, physical health and a healthy diet are both an integral part of a natural beauty regimen.

The benefits of exercise are many. Not only does exercise control weight, combat health conditions and diseases, improve mood, and boost energy, your skin will benefit as well. Our bodies go through a cleansing process, by releasing toxins when we perspire. This helps our circulation and makes our skin supple.

A healthy diet consists of eating a wide variety of foods. This is important because different foods make different nutritional contributions. Fruits, vegetables, grains, and legumes should make up the bulk of the calories you consume. The rest should come from low-fat dairy products, lean meat and poultry, and fish.

You should also try to maintain a balance between calorie intake and calorie expenditure. Using websites like SlimKicker.com, which helps track calories, carbs, activities, and diet, will help keep you accountable and motivated.

Beauty Basics 101: Skin – Part Two

Sebum – our skin’s worst nightmare, right? Wrong. Sebum is a clear waxy substance that acts as a natural barrier and emollient. It helps protect our skin and hair by moisturizing and waterproofing them, keeping them from becoming dry and cracked.

Over production of sebum causes our skin to become oily, while under-production dries our skin dry. Neither of these conditions are bad, or abnormal. However, oily skin may be the product of bad skin care habits. Our skin has a natural ability to cleanse and revitalize itself by cellular turnover and the natural moisturizing power of sebum. Most “experts” would suggest to completely stop the production of sebum in order to decrease breakouts. This only results in the over production of sebum to compensate for the lack of moisture, which leads to oily skin. Sebum does not clog our pores – dirt, make up, and dead skin cells do. Instead of stripping our skin of its natural moisturizer, a healthy skin care routine that eliminates dead skin cells and bacterial buildup will help the skin’s natural ability to revitalize itself.

Dry skin occurs with environmental changes, such as cold, dry weather. However, instead of letting our skin adjust naturally to these changes, we cover our skin with an oily film of synthetic products, which not only blocks the loss of water, but also doesn’t allow our skin to breathe. We then treat our skin with detergents and ionic surfactants that strips our skin of its natural moisture even more. As we get older, however, our skin naturally gets drier and requires more oil to keep it supple.

Using a moisturizer that has a lot of our skin’s natural qualities will help our skin adjust to these dry and oily spells. And remember, sebum is a natural, necessary characteristic of our skin. Trying to get rid of it will only reek more havoc.

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